PRINCE KARIM AGA KHAN IV
Shah Karim al-Husayni, the Aga Khan IV is the eldest son of Prince Aly Khan and Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan, was Born in Geneva, Switzerland, on 13 December 1936.
He spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, and then attended Le Rosey School in Switzerland for nine years.
He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a BA Honors Degree in Islamic history.
The Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, as a 49th Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims on 11 July 1957 at the age of 20.
When his grandfather died, He said “Overnight, my whole life changed completely. I woke up with serious responsibilities toward millions of other human beings.
The Aga Khan and Begum Salimah had one daughter and two sons together (m. 1969–1995),
Princess Zahra Aga Khan (born 18 September 1970),
Prince Rahim Aga Khan (born 12 October 1971),
Prince Hussain Aga Khan (born 10 April 1974),
And By Begum Inaara, the Aga Khan has a son (m. 1998–2011),
prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan (born 7 March 2000).
Since taking on his role as a imam in 1957, he continue the work of his grandfather and he dedicated his efforts towards improve the quality of life of the Ismailis.
In 1972,people of South Asian origin, including Ismailis were expelled by uganda President Idi Amin. some of whose families had lived in Uganda for over 100 years,
were given 90 days to leave the country.The imam phoned his long-time friend Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau’s government agreed to allow thousands of Ismailis to
immigrate to Canada. The Aga Khan also undertook urgent steps to facilitate the resettlement of Ismailis displaced from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Burma, to other countries.
The Aga Khan has encouraged Ismailis to settled in the industrialised world to contribute towards the progress of communities in the developing world through various development programs.
Also imam is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network.
Over the years, the imam has received numerous honours, honorary degrees, and awards.
To show their appreciation and affection towards their imam the Ismaili community celebrated his Year of Imamat,
Silver Jubilee (11 july 1982 to 1983),Golden Jubilee (11 July 2007 to 13 December 2008),Diamond Jubilee (11 July 2017 to 11 July 2018).
silver jubilee : The 25th anniversary of his Imamat is know as silver jubilee which is from 11th july 1982 to 1983.During silver jubilee imam launched many new social and economic development projects.
like Aga Khan University based in Karachi,The Aga Khan Rural Support Program and urban hospitals and primary health care centres in Tanzania and Kenya and many more projects.
Golden jubilee:The 50th Anniversary of his Imamat is know as Golden Jubilee which is from 11 July 2007 to 13 December 2008.
On this occasion, leaders representing Ismailis from different areas of the world gathered at the Aga Khan’s residence to pay homage to the Imam.
As part of the Golden Jubilee, the Aga Khan made official visits to various countries.
The Aga Khan also organized a Ismaili sports meet in Kenya in 2008, and teams of Ismailis from different areas of the world came to play in this event.
One of the initiatives of the Golden Jubilee was the Jubilee Games, firstly named as the Golden Jubilee Games but continued as the Jubilee Games.
The first of the event held in Kenya in 2008. The second Jubilee Games were held in Dubai, UAE in July 2016.
Diamond Jubilee:11 July 2017 to 11 July 2018 has been designated the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Aga Khan’s 60th year of reign.
The Aga Khan travelled throughout the Diamond Jubilee year to different countries to launch new projects releted to education, housing and ECD (early childhood development).
The imam made official visits to various countries including the United States, UAE, India, Pakistan, Canada, France, UK, Kenya, and others.
On 8 March 2018, Queen Elizabeth hosted the Aga Khan at Windsor Castle at a dinner to mark his Diamond Jubilee.
During his visit to Houston, he announced The Ismaili Centre Houston. The Diamond Jubilee ended with grand celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal on 11 July 2018.